Sydney has left, sticking Gene with the sole duty of putting up with Jade. How will he cope?

"The Gene, the Jade, and the Boot"

Townhouse, NY

Continued from 'Where Are Chi and Lena?'

Standing up, Gene appears ready to say something to Sydney, but she is already at the door. This leaves him with Jade who appears to be a little overeager. He tries to cover her mouth with his hand as he speaks softly to into her ear if she allows it. "You're at an eight right now… Need you at a three or a four right now. Been a long week, we're fine. If you were in danger, you'd already be in a cell. While this likely sounds a little more egotistical than I'd want, I'm the smartest and the most connected of the bunch, I think I know what I'm talking about." With that, he backs away to give a thumbs up. "We golden?"

"Well, don't get arrested or nothing." That was Jade, cheerleader extraordinaire and profession hanger-on. "You guys have leads? How come no one tells me about leads? I could help you guys lo-mmph!" These complaints are given to poor Gene, as he's abandoned to the mercy of Jade's motormouth skills and irrascible personality by Sydney, who makes her exit. Fortunately for the male, he seems to have a trick up his sleeve about how to stop those lips from flapping. Unfortunately for him, it gets her pineapple-flavored chapstick on his palm as she blinks at him, stunned to momentary silence by the obstruction over her mouth.

After it's removed and he steps back, she quirks an eye. "Well, hello eighties action hero, did you just really give me a played-out thumbs up?" She fights hard to keep the smile off her face, fails quite miserably, but at least succeeds in holding back the worst of her verbal abuse from Gene. "I'm just nervous, okay? I mean, the two people I know best are gone, and I've only got you and a couple other people to bother for answers. And no one seems to have any." She hooks her thumbs into coat pockets and cocks a hip. "So what can I do?"

"People give thumbs up all the time," Gene points out with a small frownie face before he as he looks to the last open socket he was inspecting. He figures if it isn't anything in the main room, there likely isn't anything anywhere else. After all, the bugs would be in the most accessible areas first. The house mostly checked out, Gene gives a shrug. "I have Sydney checking out the lead with someone else. Right now, need you to stay out of trouble. Just lead a normal life… Unless you want to enter the not so glamerous world of 'Saving the World' where people don't trust you even after you save their life and stuff."

"They most certainly do not, outside of Rick Astley conventions." Jade hovers like an ever-present nosy nancy, leaning down slightly to look at the wall socket as if she actually knew what any of the wires or contacts in there were supposed to do. "But while she's doing that, I could be doing something else, right? I could… Um… Well, something."

Crossing her arms irritably under her chest, she adopts an expression that was a frown suspiciously like a pout, before something else catches her attention. "Saving the world? You know, Lena and Cheech, they were always talking like you were the good guys, like you were all in to fight the good fight against injustice and stuff. Is that true? Because I want help, if I can. I want to find my friends! But, ah," Looking suspicious, she pokes the ends of her fingers together. "When we find them, don't tell them I was worried about them."

Shaking his head, Gene moves to the couch to plop himself down in. His arms snake around the back of the sofa as he tries to make himself more comfortable. "I'm trying to do that… These days it's uncertain if we are actually doing it or not. Have a few people helping me, it's true… Most of them have skills to bring to the table." Gene takes his gaze off the floor to look at Jade. "So, if you were to work with us, what skills could you bring to the table?"

Like a shadow, the dark-haired teenager pads along in Gene's wake, shrugging out of her coat as they near the couch. As he makes himself comfortable on it, she tosses her coat over the arm of it, then moves to retrieve her purse from where it had fallen, picking up the contents which had spilled out of it, mostly various lip balms, a bottle of nail polish, and a tampon. She glances up from her squatting position with a thoughtful expression, shoving a mass of hair out of her way as she gathers her belongings.

"Aaaaaah, welllllll… I can surf awesome. And swim, too. Now, that might not seem like that big a deal in the winter," With her purse now recollected, she straightens up and places it on the table, "But come summer when you hit the beach, I'm the one you want there with you." There's a silent moment. "…Okay, so I can't do anything! I don't have any powers and, other than balancing on a fiberglass board on water, I can't really do anything superhero-ey."

With a grump, she takes a step backwards and flumps into a chair to grouch silently. "What about you? Lena said you were a geek, so, I'm guessing you're the tech wiz, right? …Not that Lena would ever call you a geek."

"I fight with the stuff I've made… But yeah, I am the brains of the operation. Not so much on the social graces part, but I figure that's what other people are for," Gene states as he rests his head on the back of the couch. Without looking toward Jade, he continues to speak, his tone suggesting he is in a brainstorming mindframe. "If you want to help, I suppose you could be an extra pair of eyes and ears, letting me know if you find anything useful. Sometimes people in the right place and the right time that lay low are more useful than those that 'take matters into their own hands'. That and I suppose you could be the team gopher or something. You know, getting lattes or the like. If you prove yourself there, might be willing to pay for you to have some martial art classes to be an ultimate fighting machine or something."

"You." She points at Gene. "Want me." She points at herself. "To be your maid? Uh huh…" Anyone who knew Jade could probably tell you what was coming next, but unfortunately for her current company, he didn't know her at all. Fortunately for him, she was a lousy shot, so when she toed out of her left boot, picked it up, and used it as a projectile for striking his head, it was actually his head that was in the least abount of danger of being struck.

"I'm not fetching coffee for you and your friends! I'd sooner put on a fuzzy bear suit and like your mascot!"

Though now she only had one boot on, which wasn't very conducive to level walking, so she bends down to pull the other one off, with a contemplative expression that foretold she was considering making that one into an airborn missile, as well. "Are you, like, for serious with this stuff? Have you ever actually fought secret spies and stuff before?"

"I fought criminals on multiple occassions, but nothing that was a serious drag out fight. I did one of those ones, but I had a little help with that one. And we don't need mascots, that's secret superheroes don't need those," Gene points out with a smirk, just ignoring the boot that smacks into his chest. He appears ready to say something else when he notices that his PDA is giving a couple of beeps. "Hey now… Looks like my computer finally decrpyted those government files. About damn time."

With that, Gene pulls out the device from his belt and just ignores Jade for the time being as he uses his stylis to navigate the information, leaning forward as he works.

"Yeah, well, when you want surfing lessons, you better not come to me unless you're ready to fetch some coffee. I don't even care if coffee makes no sense at the beach!" But the PDA interrupts the 'conversation' before Jade can continue on with even more vague, and unterrifying threats. For a moment, she just looks at the handheld device from across the room, but at the mention of government files, she's on her feet in an instant.

The pitter-patter of her sock-clad feet across the floors heralds her quick arrival at the couch, jumping onto it on her knees and crowding Gene's personal space to try and get a look, leaning an arm on his shoulder, a hand on his knee for balance, as she all but interjects her head into his field of vision. "How did you get government files!? I want to see! Does it have anything to do with Cheeh and Leen? Hold it up better, I can't see it."

"I'm a genius, we do that sorta thing when we have to go up against The Man," the young man states before he browses the info. Of course, he doesn't get long before someone attempts to intercept the information. He doesn't let Jade gets a good look, even as she is crawling all over him. The PDA goes up into the air, his arm outstretched to keep it as far as he can from Jade. "Rule Number One when dealing with the Gene, no feeling up the Gene while he is reading information dealing with The Man!"

"H-Hey!" With a scowl, Jade notes the PDA is pulled further away from her field of vision rather than more into it as her wishes demanded. She leans back, folding her hands into her lap, only to unfurl them in order smack Gene in the chest. Hard. "Oh gross, I just wanted to see what you have on your pocket computer, not cop a feel of someone who refers to themselves in the third person!"

She waits as patiently as possible, lifting an arm to brace her elbow against the back of the sofa, leaning her cheek on her knuckles while the fingers on her other hand tick the seconds by on her thigh. When she's sure Gene has had adequate time to digest the information he was going through, which in her estimation is about two minutes, she prompts him. "Well? What does 'The Man' have to say? Is there anything we can use? Is there anything relevant? Is there something we can do?"

"Apparently, they are finally catching onto the efforts of another hacker and myself. It's unlikely that I'll be able to get information as easily as I have been able to in the past. They are purposefully keeping their information in unconnected networks or hard copies. It looks like their are a couple new detainees. One has 'mind-altering' of some sort as a power. Looks like I have a last name. Lansing. That's it other than a mention of moving to a new site. That leaves me with a couple of unpleasant options."

Gene puts away his PDA back into his belt once more beforeh e looks toward Jade. "Hitting the Gene is also unacceptable, even when he refers to himself in the third person. Hitting the Gene excessive will result in fines and-or punishments if one wishes to remain on Team Awesome."

"Mind-altering doesn't sound like Lena at all. Well, her drugs do kind of do that, don't they. I don't like the sound of two new detainees." Oh yes, the way in which she puts two and two together is quite startling, frightening even. She switches her frown to quirking her lips from side to side as she considers the implications of that, trying not to allow her mind to come to the most insidious of the conclusions running through her head. "The Gene will stop being a doofy jerk or the Jade will recommence hitting the Gene about the head and neck!"

Glancing down to adjust her socks quick needlessly, pulling on a few loose elastic threads in the bright yellow material, the dark-haired teen exhales sharply. "So what are you going to do? Do you know where they're being held? I don't suppose it's just as easy as knowing someone who can walk thorugh walls or teleport in. You're not going to have to hurt a bunch of people, right? I mean, we're already missing two, and Syd apparently just got out of the hospital."

As Jade offers her threat, Gene ignores it for the more 'pressing' matters at hand. Glancing over toward the young woman, he points out, "You are not doing anything… I might be trying to work with some people to get to Building 26. The information about the new Building is fresh. If I go in before they switch, there's a good chance I can get them out safely. Otherwise, I'll have to go after this special agent and see about getting information out of her. I made sure to have Lena give me some of her stuff and bottle it for stuff like this, but I really don't like the idea of kidnapping government officials. Things are escalating enough without adding to body counts or stealing people."

Pulling down his scarf so his lower face is finally uncovered, Gene rubs his face with his hands. "Pulling off a mission like this without people getting hurt. This… This is gunna be hard."

"Building Twenty-Six?" Jade's nose scrunches up on her face as she sits back on her heels and frowns at the information. She was mostly expecting to have to extract it one agonizing piece after another, but there it was, laid out bare for her. And she had no idea what to do with any of it. "Hard's putting it lightly. I mean, if you go in and stir up the hornet's nest, they might just terminate everyone in there to avoid security leaks, right? I think I saw that in a movie once."

Pushing up and away from the couch, Jade stands up, stretching her legs as the unfurl from their cramped position, pacing the length of the coffee table, then around the corner, bending over twice, each time picking up her boots. "Sometimes I wish I was born a guy. A big beefy one who could beat the hell out of people. Now I know what Cheech was always whining about when he said he couldn't ever do anything. Look," She pauses, hugging her footwear to her chest. "If you die or something, then thanks for looking for them. But next time, I'll aim the boot better."

"I know… Which is why if I went in there, I'd have to save everyone in there. It's possible, just gunna take a lot of luck. I already started pulling together a team that could do it all." Already know a person that make illusion, know another that can hack security systems. Between the two, might be able to get through the entire building without firing a shot," Gene states as he gives a smirk to Jade's words before he stands up slowly. He stretches a bit before he looks around. "Being big and bad doesn't account for everything… Being smart is important too. As for dying, thanks for the thought, but I don't really plan on doing that. If I go, it will be for something really awesome. Not just kinda awesome."

"Weeeeeeeeell, I almost got half-way through the ninth grade, so I guess I'll just have to make up for everything else with my startling intellect, won't I?" Unlike while wearing her boots, her feet don't make loud clomping noises as she moves to the base of the stairs, hugging her boots with one arm, while placing the other on the bannister. "A hacker, huh? Maybe I could learn how to do that. You only need to learn how to type, right? That can't be too hard. …That has to be the doofiest thing I've ever heard a guy say. Just be careful. Lena doesn't have many nice friends, and she's going to be pissed if I let anything happen to you."

Running up the stairs, Jade's voice comes back over her shoulder as she flees the room, heading up towards her private abode. "I have to go change! Some guy came in today smelling like dead dog, and I think I got some of it on me. Lock the door if you leave!"